City council adopts 'Speak Your Peace'

The Sisters City Council has jumped on board with the community civility project "Speak Your Peace" - with one dissenting vote.

The Council adopted two resolutions regarding the Speak Your Peace (SYP) nine tools of civility that are part of the Sisters Country Civility Project (SCCP), at their April 14 Council meeting.

During visitor comments, four members of the Citizens4Community (C4C) steering committee reviewed how the SCCP grew out of interest expressed at last year's Economic Vitality Summit for a way to encourage civil discourse that promotes respect and honesty. Some summit participants had indicated they felt there was no safe platform in the city for open discussion.

Jeff Campbell, president of the Sisters Park & Recreation District board of directors, commended the Council for their willingness to incorporate the nine tenets of civility into their code of conduct. He asked Council to "put aside any personal feelings you may have and consider the good of the community" when voting on the resolutions.

Steering committee chairperson Robyn Holdman thanked Council for their letter of support to the Ford Family Foundation for the C4C fund request to bring Rob Karwath, SYP representative, to Sisters to facilitate public forums last winter.

Holdman read a statement from C4C committee member Kent Neff reminding Council that the civility principles are simple and encouraging, and that it is a program of empowerment.

Clark Brody, C4C committee member, told Council of his experience sharing the message of SYP with organizations at Black Butte Ranch - police, fire, and homeowners board of directors - and their responses of adopting the nine tools.

Brody stressed that the civility project is not a platform from which to judge others.

"We don't need civility police," he said.

Rather, it is an invitation to join the effort of SYP in Sisters, and it begins with each individual making the choice to join.

Later in the evening, Council voted to incorporate the nine Tools of Civility into their own code of conduct and also approved the resolution on behalf of the City. Mayor Chris Frye and Councilor Andrea Blum were not in attendance, but with a quorum present, Council was able to vote on both resolutions. All three councilors voted to approve incorporating the nine tenets into their own code of conduct. Council president Nancy Connolly and Councilor Amy Burgstahler voted in favor of the City of Sisters accepting the nine tools. David Asson voted against that resolution.

When asked by The Nugget to explain his split votes, Asson said, "Council has the right to decide to adopt the nine tenants of civility for their own code of conduct but not for the City as a whole. People who come to City Hall have strong feelings one way or another. We shouldn't be expressing a point of view as a City that would impede them from freely expressing themselves (if they did it in a way that wasn't in line with the nine tenets)."

The resolution passed.